Do you notice anything different lately when you walk in the forest? Urban sprawl means that more woodlands are exposed to urban gardeners. As society spreads out, there are fewer and fewer natural areas. Those that remain have a high level of exposure to exotic plants. In central Ontario, the normal spring wildflowers are a mat of trilliums, interspersed with other ephemerals such as marsh marigolds, trout lilies, spring beauties, jack in the pulpit, and wild bleeding hearts. However, more and more of these plants are being out-competed by the plants that spread from urban gardens to wild spaces.
I experience sadness as I see massive areas completely blanketed by yellow archangel, a plant I also see as ground covering in several of my neighbours’ yards. I also experienced remorse as I noted a shoot of periwinkle growing in the woods next to my home. Remorse because I have periwinkle in my garden, that I had rationalized as being far enough away from the woods to be of no concern.
So, my happiness aside, does it matter what is growing under the trees of our forests? According to the Audubon society it does matter. Native birds depend on the wildflowers native to their homes for food. And according to The Network of Nature, “when native plants are lost and replaced with non-native species or concrete, wildlife is also lost, leading to the collapse of ecosystem function.“
Whether or not you live near a forest, planting native species makes good sense because birds, other animals, the wind, and people all move plants and seeds from one location to another. One thing that each of us can do in the fight to preserve biodiversity is to check that the plants we are cultivating are native to our area of Canada. Urban spawl is a growing issue in Canada and around the world. While individually, we may feel helpless to stop it, there are ways we can mitigate its impact. This is just one small step. But the oriel in your backyard may be thanks enough for this effort.
